Troubleshooting
Some things I learned about "triggers" recently…
An autoCrat "trigger" automatically merges the document and sends the form without any having to click the "play" or go button on autoCrat. Triggers are found in step 9 of autoCrat.
Only the owner of the spreadsheet can enable the "form trigger"; that is, the function that merges the document and send it attached to an email automatically when the form is submitted.
That goes for the "time trigger" also. The time trigger send out the email with merged doc hourly, daily, or whatever you set.
So if you're collaborating on a form and linked spreadsheet, you'll have to get in touch with your partner if you're not the "owner"; that is, the person who originally created the form.
In my experience, the form trigger works better than hitting the play button; that is running the script "manually." I always use a form trigger if I can. That way the network isn't overwhelmed by sending 100s of emails at once.
autoCrat gets stuck sometimes
Sometimes when I start autoCrat, the process stops. After all you went through to get this thing to this point--why WHY?
Have courage, Grasshopper. Is the wifi functioning? Wouldn't you feel better if you were using a computer that was connected with an ethernet cord? I always prefer hard-wiring to wifi if possible.
Check the columns labeled "Merged Doc ID - Name of job," "Merged Doc URL - Name of job," "Document Merge Status - Name of job." These columns were created by autoCrat when you clicked the play button.
If they are filled in letters and numbers or links, all is well. Your document merged for that row, and was sent.
If these columns are blank, your document didn't merge and the email wasn't sent.
Sometimes just opening autoCrat and hitting play again will get everything going again. Sometimes not.
On the autoCrat opening screen, in addition to the play button, you see an eye. Click the eye for a preview of the job--it works great! Sometimes the messages here will give you a clue as to what's wrong.
Look again at the columns. If you see "Starting," followed by a time, it may mean that autoCrat is lost for some reason. I found the deleting the "Starting" message in each row where it appears, then going back to autoCrat and hitting play usually works. Or you can try this solution from the NV AutoCrat Add-on Group.
The absolute last resort is to go back to autoCrat, creating a new job, with a new name, and running that. autoCrat will now add 3 more columns labeled in a similar way. Of course, if any of the rows worked, those people will get another merged doc with their second email.
Even more desperate? "In the Google sheet itself, there is a hidden sheet with the Autocrat settings. Try deleting that and creating the job from scratch." Brian McKenzie https://groups.google.com/forum/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer#!msg/nv-autocrat-add-on/4smrptIxfW4/IhKF4k0tAgAJ
Someone complains that they didn't get your email.
Check the column labeled "Document Merge Status - Name of job." It will tell you if the email failed or was sent. You'll also find the address it was sent to.
Send your question to an expert
The NV Autocrat Add-on Google group invites questions from autoCrat users, then other users reply with suggestions on how to fix your issue.
I'm not an expert, but I'll do my best. Email me.
